Some will say it’s because they appear too radical (laughable considering their advancement of Nixon/Eisenhower-type centrist reforms, but the right has done a good job with its spin). Others will say it’s because they aren’t progressive enough to energize the base. I think both explanations might be correct.

Americans' favorable rating of the Democratic Party has dropped to 41%, the lowest point in the 18-year history of this measure. Favorable impressions of the Republican Party are now at 42%, thus closing the gap between the two parties' images that...